angels beheld

You must remain focused.

Indefatigable.

Perspicacious.

The muffled words repeated over and over. Always at the beginning of the day. Daniel recited them, just barely above a whisper in the dark. He rubbed his sore eyes and scratched his arm. Next to him, Isa said the next part of the mantra.

You must be the only one that can control your mind.

Isa was lucky. She didn't have much to offer anymore. She'd already lost the best parts of herself long ago, and now, she only gave blood. She had handled her sacrifice a lot better than Ron and Elizabeth. Those two weren't strong enough. Their offerings were slow—thoughtful. It would be Ron's hand, then Elizabeth's eyes. Back then, the pair of them filled the room with their constant crying. When the chorus of laughter above erupted into ground-shaking chants, the crying in the darkness down below only got worse.

Elizabeth's thighs. Ron's buttocks. Elizabeth's arm. Ron's ears and nose. Daniel did not know what He did with the parts. All he knew were the words that He would say when He took them up: If only the rest of you was this perfect.

Daniel wondered why no part of him was perfect. Or even just good enough. He'd only lost one ear and two fingers. He wasn't beautiful like Elizabeth or strong like Ron. His blood wasn't good enough to to be collected like Isa's. Every day, he sat in the dark thinking about how he could make himself appear more desirable. Straining his eyes to look through the darkness, Daniel landed on his right foot. He wiggled it around, feeling the joints turn against the cartilage. Just a few days ago, He had already told Daniel that it would be gone soon. The news was almost enough to make Daniel cry, for all he ever wanted was to be of use.

As each day came, Daniel hoped it was the day. Then, some time after his daily green meal, the creak of the door brought Daniel to his feet. A crack of warm yellow light stretched across the floor, its glowing hands reaching beyond Isa and landing right on Daniel's face. He closed his eyes and breathed, waiting for the whoosh of the dart. The immediate heaviness overtook him and slowly, his muscles relaxed. He fell over and into the strong arms of Him.

Limp and just barely awake, Daniel was carried upstairs. The brightness of the world above shone through his drooping eyelids. His body hit something hard and cold.

"Careful." A soft voice cut through the muffled world. "I don't want the cheeks bruised."

Someone spoke again, but Daniel could not understand them. Still, his mouth couldn't help but twist into a weak grin. Daniel prayed his next offering to Him would prove that he was worthy.

He was too weak to say the nightly mantra aloud, but the words repeated in his mind until everything went black.

The path to permanent dreams is one full of sacrifice.